Letting go
by Ladijules
Summary: When Mac and Stella are forced to go undercover, can they keep their feelings for each other undercover too? Case based but fluffy in some spots Completely SMacked!
1. Chapter 1

Letting Go

By Ladijules

When Mac and Stella are forced to go undercover, can they keep their feelings undercover too?

A/N - I don't own them. CBS does. I just write stories about them.

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Chapter 1

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The chief of police sat at his desk, flipping through a large file. The file itself wasn't a pleasant thing to read through. The graphic pictures it contained made his stomach churn. They had a serial rapist and murderer on the loose out on the island and the kind of things he did to his victims was beyond the usual normal of sick. Whoever he was, he had his own "signature": not only were the female victims raped and murdered, but each of his male victims had the greek letters for Alpha and Omega carved into their chests peri-mortom and it was always a husband and wife. Crimes matching this had already taken place in California, Colorado, Louisiana and Georgia. Even the feds were looking for him now. And worse, judging by the crime scene photos from 3 days ago out by Long Beach, the monster had moved to New York. The chief was determined that this bastards reign of terror was going to stop here.

He looked up at a sound, just in time to see his two best CSI's walk in the door. Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera were an interesting pair. He was an old Marine known for his determination and his complete focus on the crime at hand. She was so beautiful that he was surprised she had become a cop, surely she could have been a pampered housewife to some rich guy. But she too had an unbeatable reputation in her field. He was also aware the the two were the best of friends and if the rumors were true, they were secretly in love with each other. The friends part would help them in this assignment. The part about them being in love... well, that could complicate things or make them easier. Not that it really mattered to the chief as long as the job got done. He hated to ask this of them, but he didn't really have a choice. They were the ONLY people he had with the right abilities and mannerisms to pull this off.

Mac and Stella walked into the office with questioning looks on their faces and sat down at the chiefs nod. The chief gave them both a long look before dropping the file on the desk and leaning his elbows on it.

" I know you two worked on the husband/wife murder case we had three nights ago. I recently got some information on it, but it needs to be kept quiet. Thats why I asked you two to come here. " The chief picked up the file and opened it so they could read it. "This isn't the first time he's done this. You already know what he does to the victims. What you don't know is that he is predictable to a certain extent. The Feds have been researching this and some things are very consistant. In every state he has done this in, it is always a upper middle class husband and wife and he always kills 5 couples before he moves on. The murders always take place on the third Friday night of the month and within a 3 mile radius of each other. All of the victims are in their late 30's to mid 40's with no children living at home and they all live in blue, suburban houses. Sometimes the murders are months apart, we guess its because it takes him awhile to find victims that suit his standards. And just like he did with the most recent case, he always calls to report the murders to 911 himself. There is also evidence that he keeps the couples under close watch, often even putting spy equipment into the homes he's watching when he can. "

Mac and Stella just nodded. While all of their cases were disturbing, this one had been beyond the norm. Just from the way the killer had handled the bodies had proved to them this wasn't the first killing. They weren't surprised to have it confirmed. The rest of the information however left them both feeling chilled.

"If the feds know so much about this, why haven't they caught the guy yet?" asked Mac. "With all that information, couldn't they have put someone undercover?"

"They tried." The chief answered. "A few times. It didn't work. Mostly because this guy does observe the victims so closely. The undercover agents just couldn't pull it off as husband and wife that long. We're guessing that if they don't act like whatever his version is of what a husband and wife should act like, he loses interest and moves on to another couple. And the guy is really clever. He leaves almost nothing for tracing him. It wasn't until the last case that we even got DNA. As you know though, we couldn't find a match to that DNA in any database."

"What exactly do you mean by his version of what a husband and wife should act like?" Stella asked. "Couldn't that give us a clue to the kind of personality or past history for this guy so we could narrow it down?"

The chief nodded, impressed that she had picked that up so quickly. "The feds did do a personality profile on him. They suspect that his own parents were very similar to his victims and that either he wants to kill them or he already has. As for what he thinks a couple should act like, the reports from people who knew the victims all said that the couples were very much in love with each other and it showed. It also seems that all of the victims were rarely separated and often worked in the same place. The women weren't usually housewives unless the husband also worked from the home."

"So what do you want us to do? We already have the department working full time on this one. Are the feds going to help?" Mac asked.

The chief closed his eyes and sighed. Then he opened them and looked straight at Mac. "The feds don't have undercover agents that they can send. The are willing to do whatever they can, but they are a bit shorthanded at the moment. They asked us to take on the lead on this case."

"So what do you want us to do?" asked Stella, repeating Mac's question.

"I want you to go undercover yourselves. Your the best we have and the most capable of solving the case. Your also best friends, so you should be able to pull off the husband / wife thing without too many problems. And let me be clear: this guy will be watching VERY closely. You two will really have to ACT like husband and wife in every way and you may have to do it for a few months. We HAVE to catch this guy. "

Mac and Stella took in what the chief was asking of them and all it implied, and then the color drained out of both of their faces. Mac said it first. "YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT?! "

"You heard me Taylor. I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice. Not only are you the best I have, your the ONLY people I have. It has to be done. And if your concerned regarding protocol in this case, let me assure you I will be "looking the other way" as it were."

Stella finally chimed in, obviously angry. "I'm not sure you can even ask this of us! I understand going undercover but......".

The chief shook his head. He knew they weren't going to be pleased with this assignment when he decided to give it to them. "Bonasera, what's more important here? The case or your personal feelings? This is a job that needs to be done. Your being told you need to do it. How you do it and how you feel about it isn't my problem. Getting this bastard is. Now start packing! There will be a team here tomorrow morning to get you into place. You can tell your team you are going undercover, but no one else." He closed the file and handed it to Mac. Mac took it with a stunned and oddly scared look on his face. The chief wasn't going to give him a chance to argue. "Good luck on the case and I expect to see you two back here shortly with that monster in handcuffs."

Mac glared at the chief and at the file but knew it was pointless to argue, the chief had obviously just dismissed them. He turned around and stalked out of the room without even looking at Stella.

Stella stood, shaking, searching the chief's face. He glared right back at her. Without a word, she turned and walked out of the office, following in Mac's footsteps.

When the door had closed, the chief allowed himself a brief smirk and shook his head in amusement. If those two really were in love with each other, this case was going to push them over the edge. He thought of his two detectives... he had known them for years. He knew what both of them had been through and what he was asking of them. Oh to be a fly on the wall when they really realized that he had just given them permission to ignore protocol on this one! He suspected that the protocols regarding boss and employee are what had kept them apart all these years if they really were interested. Or one of the reasons anyway. He just hoped putting them together wasn't going to tear them apart. He suddenly sobered. He also hoped this case wouldn't get them killed.

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A/N - I know some of this was a little OOC. Sorry, but it took a bit to set this situation up. It will get better, I promise.

And for my Fan's waiting for the final installments of Hell House.... I'm working on it, I promise!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Letting Go

I don't own them. Wish I did.

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Chapter 2

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Mac stomped into his office and let his body fall down into his chair, dropping the file on his desk in the process. Then he leaned back, put his hands over his face and let out a groan. He couldn't believe what his boss just asked him to do. He understood the undercover bit. It wasn't the first time he'd been asked to go undercover, though it didn't happen often. CSI's usually didn't do that kind of work unless there was a damn good reason. It was the part about doing it with Stella, with himself pretending to be Stella's husband that had him shaken. The chief had made it clear: if the suspect was going to be watching them that closely, he was going to have to play the "proper" husband. Including kissing her. Including sharing a bed with her. His groin tightened at the thought. He ignored it.

He was willing to admit to himself that he had some strong feelings for Stella that went beyond her just being his best friend. He sighed to himself. Okay, he was in love with her. He wasn't sure she was in love with him and he didn't really want to admit his feelings to her. He didn't want a moment of lust on his part to alienate her or ruin their friendship. The relationship they currently shared was too important to him for that. But how was he supposed to just pretend those feelings when those feelings were real? How was he supposed to do this assignment without losing his cool or his mind?

He heard the door open and knew who had walked into his office just by the sound of the footsteps. He braced himself mentally before pulling his hands away from his face and looking into Stella's eyes.

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Stella had ran into the bathroom right after she left the chief's office. Her knees were trembling as much as her insides where. Undercover with Mac! As his wife! She couldn't believe it! Of all the undercover assignments she could have been asked to take, she had to be given this one? She understood immediately what the chief had said about really acting like a husband and wife, protocol be damned. He pretty much ordered them to do the things policy said they shouldn't. Like sleeping together.

Oh god! Sleeping together! For just a moment, Stella allowed herself to imagine what it would be like lay beside him, to fall asleep in his arms every night. Not that she hadn't imagined it before. It was something she thought about every night. But now... not only was she going to get to do it, she had been ORDERED to do it. She took a deep breath and began to smile. This was going to be ..... interesting.

Practically asserted itself quickly though and the smile slid off her face. This wasn't going to be easy nor fun. They weren't doing this for fun. They were out there to catch a very clever killer. They were doing this to become a target.

Then she thought of Mac and how he had reacted to this. He hadn't even looked at her when he had walked out. Was it because he was angry that he was going to have to do this or was he upset because of the danger? Mac tended to be very protective of her and taking on this assignment meant she was going to be in danger. He couldn't be very happy about that. But was he angry because he was going to have pretend to be her husband? Did the very thought upset him because he didn't want to do it? NO, that wasn't it. Not entirely anyway. She knew he loved her, he never even needed to say the words. How he felt about her showed in his actions. The hugs of support, the way he was always there for her, the way he watched her when he didn't think she was looking.

Stella sighed, then bent down over the sink and splashed cool water gently on her face. She grabbed a towel and blotted her face, careful not to mess up her makeup too much. No, she suspected that one of the problems was that he wasn't going to be able to avoid his feelings for her anymore, if they really existed. Not when they were going to have to be this intimate. This was going to be very difficult for him. He'd already been through too much of an emotional hell when he lost Claire and then Payton. Forcing him to put himself into this position, even if he was supposed to be just pretending those feelings for the case, was going to be very uncomfortable for him. The fact that he might let his real feelings out had to be scaring the hell out of him. At least she wasn't the one who had forced him into this. They were just going to have to deal with what happened, come what may. This was part of their job. It had to be done no matter how they felt about it.

Stella checked herself in the mirror, making sure she looked as calm as she didn't feel. She decided standing here in the bathroom wasn't going to get anything done, one way or another. It was time to go talk to Mac and get this started.

She found him exactly where she thought she would: in his office. She looked through the glass and saw him sitting in his chair with his hands over his face. Yes, this was certainly going to be difficult for him. And for her. Did she really want to expose her feelings as well? She took another deep breath, reminded herself that this was supposed to be about a case and not her own feelings and walked into his office. He immediately pulled his hands away from his face and looked right into her eyes.

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Mac was impressed by Stella's composure. She looked perfectly calm. He knew he wasn't. The case itself wasn't difficult but what they had to do to solve it was going to be. He really needed to talk to her about it but the words just wouldn't come. He needed to have them both acknowledge what this assignment was going to mean in terms of what they would be doing and how they would be acting towards one another. And do he had to do it without revealing how he really felt.

Stella, bless her, found the words for him. "Do you think we can do this?" she asked. She quietly sat down in the chair, watching Mac closely.

Mac sighed. "Stella, I don't know what to say. I know why they are asking us to do this, but this isn't going to be easy. What they are asking us to do is........."

Stella nodded. She understood what he was saying. She was feeling the same way herself. She figured she'd jump right in and address the problem head on. "Mac, lets be honest. Do you really think we can pull this off? Do you think you can act like my husband convincingly enough for this guy to believe it?"

Mac looked long and hard into Stella's eyes before he answered. "With some cooperation between the two of us, yes, I think I can. But I think we both need to face what we might have to do here. We're going to have to plan this carefully." He paused before going on. "Stella, you know what this means, how we are going to have to act, both in public and private. Are you going to be able to handle this without personal feelings getting in the way of the case?"

Stella closed her eyes and thought about it. Really thought about it. Not just her fantasies about Mac, but the reality. In some ways, the act they were going to have to pull off was scarier than facing the killer. She knew Mac deserved the most honest answer she could give him. "Mac, I can't promise my personal feelings won't play a part in this. I will try to keep this as professional as possible. I won't deny this makes me uncomfortable, not just for me but for you too. I think this just might be a case where we are going to have to let go of our personal reservations and do what we need to. I know I couldn't do this with anyone BUT you. Your the only person I know I can trust to do something like this with. Your my best friend Mac. I know you will be there for me when this gets rough. I realize what they are asking us to do. I know what it means. I admit the idea is making me a bit nervous, but I think we can do this. I think we HAVE to do this."

Mac nodded, comforted by Stella's response. She did understand. He just hoped he could keep up his side of this. "Thank you for your understanding Stella. I don't think I could do this with anyone but you either. I trust you too. And your right, we are going to have to put aside our reservations for this. Its not going to be an easy assignment." He gave her another long look before he straightened up in is chair, ready to get back to business. He picked the file up off the desk and handed it to her. "Read this over. See if you can come up with some idea's on how to best catch this guy and what we're going to need to do it. I'm going to go talk to the special ops team and get some information on how exactly this is supposed to be done. Then I'll go tell the rest of the team."

Stella nodded in agreement, feeling a little better now that they were back on strictly professional ground. He didn't envy him the job of telling the team. She could just imagine what their reaction was going to be. She stood up and walked out of Mac's office with only one thought in her mind. Was she really going to be able to do this?


	3. Chapter 3

Letting Go

I don't own them.

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Chapter 3

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Mac stood in front of his team and reminded himself how much he loved working with all of them. They were his family, his friends. The best CSI's in the NYPD. Too bad that right now all he wanted to do was shoot them. Their surprise at hearing that he and Stella were going undercover as a husband and wife was bad enough. The knowing smirks on all of their faces when he explained the extent of the assignment was pissing him off though. Hawkes and Sid were at least attempting to keep a straight face, even if their eyes showed their amusement. Adam, Danny and Lindsey looked like they were going to break out laughing at any moment. Flack, who had wandered over and joined the crowd, was also attempting to keep a straight face and failing miserably. He couldn't see how they could find this so funny. Oh, he knew the lurid thoughts running through their heads right now. No matter how hard he had already protested that this was a JOB, none of them believed that he and Stella were not going to enjoy it. He was well aware that his team thought he and Stella should be together. He just couldn't seem to convince them that there were very good reasons why they weren't. This assignment wasn't going to help the situation.

He ignored Flack's eavesdropping and made one more attempt to get them all thinking about work again. "Listen. We don't know how long this will take. The killer sometimes observes the couples for months before making a move. We might not even be the first couple he looks at. Stella is reading the file now to come up with ways to attract him to us instead of another couple. What I need you to do is come up with any additional ideas on how to keep Stella and I safe. We would rather we catch him instead of him killing us. The FBI is going to be involved in this as well. I expect all of you to cooperate with them. The feds are sending an insertion team, we will be having the first meeting with them tomorrow, but we will still be doing the majority of the work on this case. In the mean time..." he handed out the FBI brief on the case to each team member "read this. Come to me if you have any questions." He turned and walked back to his office. He couldn't stand looking at their smirking faces anymore.

He reached his office and walked to the window, leaning his forehead against it. He closed his eyes, still trying to come to terms with what was about to happen. He was trying to act cool and collected about all this, but his trembling insides were telling a different story. He was trying to get images of Stella out of his mind: how she would look sleeping in the same bed as him, how she would feel when he held her in his arms. He still wasn't sure he could handle this professionally. And worse, he knew in his heart that he wasn't going to be able to keep his composure. Just how was he going to keep Stella from realizing that he desperately wanted this on a personal level?

He turned his head when he heard a knock on his glass door and waved Hawkes in. Hawkes at least seemed to have gotten past his amusement. If anything, now he looked really nervous and was refusing to look Mac in the eye. "Now what?" Mac wondered.

Hawkes took a deep breath. What he was about to say and ask was going to make them both very uncomfortable but as the resident doctor, it was his job to deal with it. He put on his most professional mask before finally really looking at his boss.

"Mac, I know this is going to be a difficult assignment for you. I realize what your going to have to go through. I'm sorry I have to ask this, of both you and Stella, but its necessary." Hawkes said.

"What are you asking, Hawkes?"

"I realize that you two might have to get... intimate.... for this case. For the safety of both of you, I need to ask. When was the last time you were checked out by a doctor?"

"What do you mean? Why are you asking?" Mac asked in surprise.

" Please Mac. Don't make this tougher than it has to be. Was the last person you slept with Payton? And did you use protection?"

Mac felt his face and neck heat in embarrassment. Of course. He hadn't thought about that. If they were supposed to play a married couple, they probably couldn't use condoms. The fact that someone may be watching him and Stella in bed embarrassed him even more. He hadn't really thought about that either. Deliberately.

He turned away and answered Hawkes questions. "Yes, Payton was the last person and Yes, we used protection. No, I haven't been checked by a doctor since then. Or rather, I haven't been checked for STD's in awhile. I'm sure I'm fine but I understand the need to ask."

Hawkes felt rather sorry for Mac. Of all the people he knew, he knew Mac Taylor would be the one least likely to enjoy having his sex life being discussed by his co-workers. Hawkes was trying to keep it firmly in mind that this was for an investigation, not for personal pleasure, even if they did end up enjoying it. He cleared his throat and addressed his boss again. "I know its been awhile since you were with Payton. If there are any problems, they will show up on a blood test by now. So if you don't mind....?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe and a vial and gestured toward Mac's arm.

Mac didn't even look at Hawkes as he sat down in his chair, rolled up his sleeve and placed his arm on the desk. Hawkes didn't waste any time. He immediately grabbed Mac's arm, tied it off and inserted the syringe. It was over in moments.

"I should have the test results for you in the morning. Sorry I had to ask." Hawkes said, then walked out the door.

Mac watched Hawkes walk out of the room with a feeling of impending doom. This was really going to happen. He was really going to pretend to be Stella's husband with all it entailed. He really wasn't ready for this.

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Stella sat at her desk going through the file. What she read confirmed what the chief had told them. Forensics worked great when you had the information you needed, but when the killer wasn't giving you much to go on, undercover was the only way to get it. She even agreed with him that going undercover was the only option. From the reports, they DID have enough information to set this up so that they had a very good chance of catching the killer.

She looked up when she heard a swish of fabric to find Lindsey standing by her desk with a strange look on her face. It was a mix of amusement and nervousness. Stella guessed by the look that Mac had already told the team what was going on. Figures they would find it funny. Now that she admitted to herself what was going to happen, all she could feel was fear.

"Hi Linds. Guess you heard already" she said.

"Um, yes. Mac told us a few minutes ago. This should be interesting. How are you feeling about all this?"

Stella sighed. Lindsey was well aware how she felt about Mac. "To be honest, I'm nervous. I'm not sure I can do this Linds. We're going to have to get VERY close in order to pull this off. " She looked at her friend and let her see both the fear and desire in her eyes. "I'm not sure Mac is up to this either. This is asking a lot of him."

Lindsey nodded. She understood what Stella was trying to say. She knew Stella wanted Mac, wanted him badly, but not under circumstances like this where he was being forced into it. Stella was something of a traditionalist is some ways. She wanted him willingly or not at all.

"Have you talked to Mac at all about this?"

"We discussed it a little bit earlier. He's not too pleased but he says he thinks he can do this." Stella said. "He did say that he doesn't think he could do this with anyone but me though and that he trusted me."

"Well, when he talked about it with the team he seemed well aware of the potential issues and he still seemed willing. I would say thats a good sign."

Stella forced a smile. She hoped Lindsey was right.

"Anyway" Lindsey continued "Hawkes asked me to come over and have a quick talk with you."

"Hawkes?" Stella said in surprise. "Why?"

"I think he's concerned for the safety of both of you. He would have come over here and asked you this himself but I think he believes you're already having a tough day and he didn't want to embarrass you."

"What do you mean?"

Lindsey had the grace to flush. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a syringe and a vial. "Um, Stella, when was the last time you had sex? Have you been checked for STD's lately? Also, you might want to consider birth control if your not already on it."

Stella blushed scarlet.


	4. Chapter 4

Letting Go

I don't own them.

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Chapter 4

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It was 6:00 am and Stella was standing in front of the mirror of her apartment. She had just taken a shower, but it didn't seem to do any good. No matter how she looked at it, she didn't really look good this morning. Understandable perhaps, since she had spent most of the night tossing and turning. This upcoming assignment had her on an emotional roller coaster. On the one hand, she was thrilled that she was going to spend time alone with Mac under some interesting circumstances. On the other hand, the fact that he was being forced to do it upset her. She would much rather have him wanting to do it then being ordered to. Underlying all this was fact that she really did want him. She had been dreaming about sharing a bed with him for years. Now that it was about to happen, she was scared. Mac was her best friend, but what if this assignment destroyed their relationship? That was the thought she couldn't bear. As much as she dreamed of having Mac as a lover, she wasn't sure it would work. And what was going to happen to their relationship after the assignment was over? Would they just go back to being friends? She wasn't sure she could handle that either.

She shook her head and began brushing her hair. Really, the point was moot now. This assignment had to go on, no matter what. She reminded herself that Mac understood the risks too and he was still willing to do this. He had to be feeling as worried as she was. Maybe he was right. They had to keep it firmly in mind that whatever happened, it was just pretend. It wasn't real. The thought made her rather sad. She was finally going to get her wish, but not in the way she wanted it.

She finished her hair and started on her make-up. She was really going to have to use a lot to cover the dark circles under her eyes. She didn't want Mac to see how much all of this was affecting her. She had only spoken to him for a few minutes before she left last night and they had both been reluctant to discuss much. Their nervous looks at each other during that brief conversation would have been funny had the situation not been so serious. As it was, she had barely made it through the conversation with Lindsey yesterday. Just the idea that they were going so far as to test her really had brought home the fact that this was real and not some weird dream. When Lindsey went so far as to ask her about birth control she had almost had a panic attack. She was, but the thought of having sex with someone without a condom, even Mac, scared her silly. And, she was honest enough with herself to admit it, it turned her on to no end. She just didn't trust most men regarding something like that. But now, she was going to have to trust Mac.

She closed her eyes and reminded herself that yes, she trusted him. She said it over and over again in her mind like a mantra. Maybe it would help her get through this. She turned and grabbed the clothes she had left out after packing last night. After she was dressed, she took one last look in the mirror. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She needed to get it together and keep it together. She glanced at her watch. It was show time. She grabbed her purse and walked out the door without a backward glance.

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It was 6:00 am and Mac had just gotten out of the shower. He didn't bother looking at himself too closely in the mirror as he shaved. He knew he looked pretty rough this morning. He had gotten some sleep, but not much. Every time he fell asleep, he had vivid dreams about the coming days and weeks with Stella. The fact that those dreams had aroused him so much was kind of disturbing to him, but not really surprising. He kept trying to remind himself that this was WORK, not pleasure but he was also aware that he wasn't doing a good job of convincing himself. He had wanted her too long for this to be easy. He wondered if she was as worried about this as he was. He smiled to himself. Yeah, she probably was. He made a promise to himself to follow her lead on this. The truth was, they really couldn't plan much of this. They were just going to have to go on their instincts. He just hoped they were both professional enough to forgive each other if it went too far.

He finished shaving and got dressed. All his stuff was packed and ready for pickup once they found out where they were going. He turned and looked around his apartment as he walked out the door. What would his life be like the next time he slept here after the case was done? He then bit his lip and pulled himself together as much as he could. He was just going to have to deal with it. He no longer had time to fret over the situation. He closed the door behind him and locked it. Time to go.

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Stella arrived at the lab 5 minutes before the meeting with the FBI agent was to begin. Traffic had been hell that morning. She had raced in to drop her purse at her desk before heading to the conference room but stopped when she saw a plain white envelop waiting for her. She picked it up, momentarily puzzled about what it could contain. She sighed in relief when she realized it was her test results from the blood work yesterday. She was happy to see that everything had come back fine. She flipped to the second sheet and realized that Hawkes had included a copy of Mac's test results as well. She felt a bit embarrassed about reading something so personal about him but practicality re-asserted itself. She needed to know the information, just like Mac needed to know hers. It was comforting to see that his had also come back clean. Apparently he hadn't caught anything from Payton. She let herself smirk a bit. She hadn't thought about it yesterday when Lindsey had asked to do hers that Hawkes must have done Mac's. She wondered who had been more uncomfortable during that conversation, Hawkes or Mac. Probably Hawkes. Having to ask your boss about his sex life had to have been a nerve racking experience, even for a doctor!

She dropped her purse into the drawer and headed towards the conference room. She entered it to find Mac had beaten her there. He rose from the table and came over to meet her. She took one look at his face and knew he had spent a rough night too. At least they were sharing the burden equally.

"Morning" he said, studying her face and handing her a coffee. The make up she was wearing wasn't really covering up the dark cirles under her eyes. He knew exactly how she felt. He just wished he wasn't the cause of them but he knew he was. "The agent is over talking to the chief but he should be here shortly. He wants to meet with just the two of us first. He said he'll give the rest of the team a briefing later."

Stella nodded but didn't get a chance to respond. An older man who was obviously the FBI agent had walk into the room as soon as Mac had finished his statement.

He addressed them both. "Good morning. You two must be Detectives Taylor and Bonasera. Its nice to meet you both. I'm Special Agent McLaughlin and I'll be in charge of getting you in place." He reached out and shook both their hands. The three of them walked over to the table and sat down, with Stella sitting next to Mac.

"Now, before I go into all the details" Agent McLaughlin continued "Do you two have any questions?"

Mac and Stella looked equally stunned. The truth was they had been thinking so hard about what this assignment was going to mean to themselves and each other that they really hadn't given anything else much thought. They both looked back at the agent and shook their heads.

"Alright then, lets get started. Your chief said you had both looked over the file, so you know what your dealing with. Since in the past the killers victims were all from the same area, we are going to be placing you just a mile from the last crime scene. That should be well within his hunting territory. We've arraigned for a three bedroom house similar in color, size and area as the victims homes. The FBI is getting it all set up for you now. You should be able to move in this evening. We are also setting up remote surveillance, the FBI will be in charge of that. " The agent gave them a lopsided smile. "Your own team could probably do it, but we thought it would help preserve your dignity if we did it instead." Mac and Stella both cast the man a look of gratitude. They could just imagine the comments they would get from the team if they were allowed to watch them in action!

The agent then gave them a look of sympathy. He had talked to the chief about these two. He knew they were going to be very sensitive about this. "For what its worth, the people who will be doing the surveillence are highly trained and none of the things they witness will be addressed unless something happens. Access to those records will be very limited, so don't worry about unauthorized persons seeing anything. I would suggest you attempt to put our watchers out of you minds. Matter in fact,while all of the outside of the house will have camera's recording 24/7, there is only a few camera's in the house doing so. There will be camera's in almost all of the rooms, but most of them will not turn on and record until you hit the panic buttons."

"Panic Buttons?" Mac and Stella asked together.

"Yes, they will be placed strategically around the house. We'll show you where they are when you arrive. Not only will they set off the camera's, but they also serve as an immediate call for back-up. If you hit one, someone should be there within two minutes to lend assistance." They nodded. That made sense and certainly made them feel a bit safer. Hopefully they wouldn't need those buttons. " We will also be giving you panic buttons to keep on your keychains that will do the same thing that will also have a GPS tracker. Just in case."

Agent McLaughlin gave them a reassuring smile and continued. "Now to get to the meat of this. First off, this operation is complex enough as it is and your probably going to be doing this for a few months. So we decided to take a few shortcuts and simplifiy it a little. Also, your chief expressed his desire to still be able to remain in contact with you in case your needed, so we took that into consideration. As of 7:00 am this morning, you two are now Drs. McQuinn and Stella Stevens. Your both research scientists over at Balcom Labs."

Mac and Stella both raised their eyebrows. It was probably a good idea to stick with their first names. Calling each other the wrong name while undercover could create a problem. But Balcom Labs?

"If your wondering why we chose that lab in particular, its because the FBI already has a contract with them. They run some of our lab tests when we need them quicker than Quantico can run them. It wouldn't be suspicious at all for NYPD to run cases over to them frequently. Nor would it be unusual for NYPD to be calling over there. And because of the cases they deal with, they have very good security, including their own shielded phone and computer lines. You should be able to contact your office as much as you like without problems or being caught. This will allow you to actually do some of your REAL work while your undercover. Not to mention, given your expertise in so many areas, there is probably other work there that you can do. We thought that this would be a better solution then having you pretend to do a job your unfamiliar with."

He waited for Mac and Stella to nod their understanding before going on. "I know your chief explained to you why undercover operations with this case have failed in the past. He seems to have a lot of faith in you both that you will be able to pull this off. So I am going to ask you point blank. I'm sure you've both been thinking about how this is going to have to go down and how you are going to need to act with each other. Can you do this?"

They turned and took a good look at each other. Discussing this in such a professional manner had seemed to calm them down. Now they were both focused on the task at hand. A look of understanding and compassion passed between them. In that one look, they had an entire conversation. With a look of a man who just decided jumping off the cliff wouldn't be such a bad idea, Mac reached out and took Stella's hand into his own and squeezed it, trying to send her confidence. For the first time that day, she truly smiled. The both looked at the agent and answered. "We can do this. We're ready."

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Thank you to all of you who reviewed this! Your wonderful!


	5. Chapter 5

Letting Go

I don't own them.

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Chapter 5

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Mac stood in the conference room with Agent McLaughlin. His team and Flack were sitting in front of them, all of them still smirking. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about that. They were going to think what they wanted to think. The truth was, they probably weren't far wrong anyway. Stella wasn't with him, which he was glad about. He could at least spare her from those knowing looks. She had left with one of Agent McLaughlin's people to go get her things out of her apartment. He had gone and gotten his stuff with the agent right after the first meeting. It was ready and waiting in Agent McLaughlin's car for the trip out.

"Alright everyone. This is how its going to work. Stella and I will be at a house out in Long Beach, on the island, in what we believe is the killers area of operation. The FBI will be the ones doing the surveillance." He paused to take in their looks of disappointment. He was certain they had been hoping to do the surveillance themselves. No way in hell was he going to let THAT happen! He continued. "We are now Drs. McQuinn and Stella Stevens. We will be working over at Balcom Labs, which has a contract with the FBI for forensics work. Because of the kind of work they do, its a secure facility and you should be able to contact us there using our undercover names without creating problems. We will also still be working on a few cases here, through Balcom labs. You won't be able to use our cell phones, as we're not taking them with us. Any questions so far?"

"Mac, are you sure you and Stella can pull this off? It's going to be a lot of wasted effort if you can't." said Danny.

"We'll be fine." Mac answered shortly. " Anyone have any questions or comments regarding the case?"

" We did come up with something interesting in regards to the DNA we found." put in Lindsey. "We noticed some odd abnormalities in the genetics. It appears that whoever this guy is, he was a product of incest of some kind. It appears that his parents were in close family relation to one another."

Mac nodded. This was a new and maybe important bit of information. He waved for her to continue but it was Hawkes who spoke up. "When you have children from people this closely related, there could be some unusual traits. For example, sometimes they will have two tone eyes, usually one blue and one green. They are also more likely to have physical or mental disabilities. Its not much to go on, but our killer could have some of those traits. Something to keep an eye out for."

"Thank you. We'll keep that in mind. Anything else?" Mac asked.

Flack spoke up. "I did a close read on the personality profile. The guy is probably white, in his mid 20's or 30's and probably had an abusive relationship with his parents. He might have a stutter. Given that he carves greek letters into his male victims, he might be religious."

"Religious? How did you come up with that?"

Flack laughed. "Aw come on Mac. Most religions call God "the Alpha and the Omega". There might be a connection there. We could be wrong, but its something else to consider. We'll also be running checks through the databases using the possible incest and abuse data to see what we can come up with. It will probably be like finding a needle in a haystack but you never know."

"Good ideas, both of them. Anything else?"

They all shook their heads. "Alright then." said Mac. "Danny, your in charge of the lab while we're gone. Hawkes, your his second. Don't blow the place up. Flack, I'm including you in on this because its still an active homicide case. And as you just proved, we can use your help and insight on this. Adam, Lindsey, if we have any evidence to send, we will send it directly to you via Balcom labs to hand out to the others if necessary. Now, Stella and I should be in place tonight. We don't think the killer will notice us immediately, which will give Stella and I time to adjust to our new persona's. We'll be starting work at Balcom Labs next Monday morning, so if you have more questions, you better think of them now or you'll have to wait until Monday."

Adam spoke up. "Mac, are you and Stella going to be armed? I know you two are both good in a fight but ......."

Mac smiled at Adam, surprised he was the one who asked that question. "Yes, we will both be armed but we are going to try to carry discretely. If the question comes up, we're going to say that because of our work at the lab, we might be in danger of kidnapping as a reason to have our pistols. The FBI already made sure we have concealed carry permits in our undercover names just in case." Adam sighed in relief. He'd been a bit worried about that, even if no one else seemed to be.

"Any last thoughts? I really need to get going. Stella should be back soon and its going to take a while to get there with New York Traffic." Said Mac.

"Yeah." Said Flack. All of a sudden, all of them were grinning. He knew at that point he should be worried. Flack reached down and picked up a box that had been sitting on the desk beside him. "Hope you don't mind confiscated goods. I got permission to pull these from an old case that no one claimed. Your going to need them." He handed the box to Mac.

Raising an eyebrow at them all, he opened the box. Inside was two smaller boxes. He picked up one and opened it. Inside was a simple gold wedding band, the perfect size to fit him. He pulled the ring out and slid it onto his finger without comment. Then he picked up the second box and open it. His eyes widened. Nestled into the velvet was a delicately wrought wedding / engagement ring combination. The engagement ring had a diamond that was easily 4 carets. The wedding band itself was intricately etched with leaves that matched the etching on the engagement ring. They were beautiful.

He looked up at them all and smiled. He should have figured they would do something like this. "Thank you. They're perfect. I'm sure Stella will love hers. I can't wait to give it to her."

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This one is short... sorry. I'll post more later tonight. Thank you for all the reviews! I love you guys!


	6. Chapter 6

Letting Go

I don't own them.

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Chapter 6

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Stella had arrived back at the lab just in time to see Mac walk out and head straight for her. She was relieved to see that he seemed pretty calm. He even had something of a smirk on this face. It wasn't a look she was expecting to see. She figured after the session with the team, he'd be annoyed.

"Are you ready? Agent McLaughlin wants to head out as soon as possible." said Mac.

"Are we taking the same car?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, he wants us to show up together. It makes sense, since we're supposed to be married."

That made sense to Stella too. "Let me just get my stuff moved to his car then."

"Alright. Want some help?" Mac asked.

"Sure." she said with a smile. She was comforted by the fact that he seemed to have come to terms with this. Or at least, was now focusing on what needed to be done instead of how it was going to be done. She hated dealing with him when he was in a bad mood.

Fortunately, the cars were parked close to each other and Agent McLaughlin's car had a lot of storage space. Granted, they had both only brought clothes but there were still several bags. The transfer took only a few minutes. By that time, Agent McLaughlin had also come out of the building and was climbing into the drivers seat. Another agent climbed into the passengers seat. That left the back seat for them. Mac opened the passenger side back door and with an amused bow, gestured for Stella to get in. Once she was settled, he got in on the other side. Agent McLaughlin promptly pulled into traffic.

Stella turned to Mac and asked "So how did the meeting with everyone go?"

"Well, they all still seemed highly amused by all this." he said dryly. "They seemed a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be doing the surveillance though."

Stella shuttered. The very idea of the team watching them while they did this was unnerving. It was going to be hard enough knowing that the FBI would be doing it, and she didn't even know them!

Mac smirked at her reaction. He completely agreed with her. He especially didn't want Danny or Lindsey watching. Mac would never be able to live it down if they did. And the comments they would make..... no, he definitely didn't want them watching. The same went for Flack, if he somehow got a hold of the tapes.

"They also might have come up with some new information." Mac said. "The DNA evidence shows that whoever this guy is, his parents were likely very closely related. Hawkes mentioned that this might mean he could have unusual characteristics, such as two tone eyes and physical disabilities. Flack also mentioned that since Alpha and Omega were carved on the chests of the men, the suspect might have religious tendencies of some sort."

"Good to know" said Stella, fitting the new information in to the information they already had. "Did they have anything else?"

"Just this." Mac took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. Then he reached out, took Stella's hand and slipped the rings onto her finger. Stella, who had been puzzled for a moment, looked down at her hand. Her jaw dropped. She was now wearing an exquisite wedding ring set, complete with a huge diamond. She looked at Mac in stunned surprise to find him watching her closely with an expression of somewhat pained amusement.

"Mac! This is... beautiful! Where did you get this? HOW did you get this? This has got to be worth a fortune!" she stammered.

He couldn't help it. The look on her face was so funny he chuckled. "Flack gave them to me right before we left". Stella glanced over to his hand, and noticed that he too was now wearing a wedding band. "We couldn't play husband and wife without them I suppose. I think he looted an old case to get them. I hope you don't mind."

Stella shook her head. Flack must have spent all night going through old evidence to find these. Then she smiled. She was willing to bet he had been grinning his fool head off when he gave them to Mac. Yes, while they all were well aware that this was a serious case, they weren't above enjoying the idea of her and Mac together. They were probably taking bets on whether they would stay together after this. She was wondering that herself.

"Thank you Mac. I'll have to get a message back to Flack thanking him too. Speaking of messages, did you let them know how to contact us?"

"Yes. It shouldn't be a problem. I'm willing to bet that there will be messages waiting for us when we get to work on Monday." He winced. "I'm also willing to bet they probably WON'T be about any cases though."

Stella could only smile. She worked with a bunch of busybodies who just had to know everything. Of course, that WAS what made them such good detectives. They got paid to be nosy.

Before they could launch into a conversation about the faults of their co-workers, Agent McLaughlin cleared his throat to get their attention. "There are just a few more things I'd like to cover before we arrive." he said. He reached back and handed Stella a large brown envelope. She opened it and several plastic cards fell into her hand. Drivers licences, hand gun licences, Balcom Labs ID cards, Bank and Credit cards, all in the names of Drs. McQuinn and Stella Stevens.

"Now, all of those are activated. The bank and credit cards are joint accounts. You have 25,000 dollars in the bank and your credit cards each have a 5,000 dollar limit. Try not to spend it all. Your salaries from Balcom will be directly deposited into the bank account. You will be responsible for paying for ordinary bills, such as water and electricity, out of those accounts." Stella nodded in understanding as she handed Mac the cards with his own name on them. She stuck her's in her purse.

Agent McLaughlin continued. "Since we want to get the killers attention as soon as possible, I suggest you enjoy all that money by going out in public in your roles as often as reasonably possible. Go to dinner. Go to a show. Go shopping. Just make sure you both do it together as a couple in love. We would prefer you two stay in each other's company constantly in public. Not only should it get his attention but its also for your safety. You can let your guard down a bit while your within the lab, but other wise...well, you get the picture." He glanced into his mirror to look at the people in the back seat. They seemed to understand all this. Not that he thought they wouldn't.

"Because you two will be traveling to and from work together, we've given you only one car. It will be parked in the garage when you arrive. You will be expected to be at Balcom Labs at 8:30 Monday morning. The address is on your ID tags. You'll be reporting to Dr. Douglas. He's a retired FBI agent whose in charge of the part of the lab you'll be working in. He knows who you really are and will serve as a direct contact to us. He will also be the one arranging for your team to visit you at the lab if necessary. We won't want them to visit often though and probably only one or two at a time. We want to keep your contact with them as low key as possible." he said.

"The house is completely furnished. Our moving people arrived there this morning to get everything in order, but there is somethings we are going to ask for you to unpack yourselves. We want you to look like an ordinary couple moving into the neighborhood. If anyone asks, tell them you're moving here from the Sedwick area of Syracuse, you've been married for 10 years and you don't have children. If you think there is a way to make yourselves look more "normal", by all means, do so. We've done back ground checks on all your neighbors, you'll get the briefings on them when you arrive. They all appear to be normal families who have been in the area for at least 2 years. Thats about it. Do you have any questions?"

"I think that covers everything" said Mac. "If anything else comes up, we'll either figure it out ourselves or contact Dr. Douglas."

"Great. I think you two are going to do just fine. Your new home is just up ahead.... 2709 South Myers. Hope you like it."

They pulled up in front of a blue house with white shutters that just screamed "American Suburban Dream house". Complete with a perfect yard, a white picket fence and a moving van in the driveway. Stella restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Soon as they stopped, Mac got out and walked to her side of the car, opening the door for her and holding out his hand.

Stella took a steadying breath and looked into Mac face. There were no longer traces of amusement there. Nor did there seem to be nervousness or fear in his calm gaze. There was only the look of focus and seriousness. He was ready to get to work. She gave him a small smile, then took his hand and stepped out of the car.

From this moment on, they would be two doctors: a happy,loving couple. No matter how they felt about it.

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Again, to all the people who have reviewed this, THANK YOU. If you haven't yet, please do!

To response to a few people who have said that most undercover stories for CSI:NY are just .... fluffy, I have to admit that's kinda why I wrote this one. I love a good undercover story but for me its got to be based on something. Since I didn't see too many of those here, I decided to write my own! But I also promise there WILL be fluff. Or maybe "smut" would be a better word. I won't get TOO graphic though, or I'd have to change the rating!


	7. Chapter 7

Letting Go

I don't own them.

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Chapter 7

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It was 7:30pm and Mac and Stella were finally alone. The moving crew had taken all day to get things situated. Or to be more accurate, for the FBI's surveillance team to get everything in place correctly. Agent McLaughlin discretely pointed out to them where the camera's and panic buttons were before he left. There was still unpacking to do though. Their own personal stuff had been dumped on the unmade bed. The FBI had assured her there were sheets for that bed in here somewhere, but she hadn't found the box yet. She decided to take a break and flopped down into the arm chair in the living room. She took this moment to consider the house she would be living in for now.

It was perfect. At least, for their purposes it was. It was in an upper middle class area with SUV's and Mercedes Benz's parked in several of the driveways. The lawns were manicured and the houses well kept. Several neighborhood ladies had been standing in small groups with young children or on their porches watching all the activity during the day. This too was good for the purpose. Word would spread about the "new" people in the area. Hopefully that would get the killers attention quickly.

As she looked around the interior of the house, she was forced to admit someone in the FBI had good taste. The whole house was decorated in strong greens, reds and golds and it all matched. Right down to the curtains. The furniture, which she had to assume was used, was in very good shape and was surprisingly comfortable. It wasn't precisely her style, but she could live with it. All in all, the place was livable.

Stella turned and looked at Mac as he walked into the room. He gave her a tired smile when he saw her relaxing in the chair. "Giving up on unpacking already?" he asked. He collasped in the the arm chair next to hers.

"Thats one of the reasons I hate moving Mac. It takes days find where everything is, then several weeks to figure out where you want to put it."

He chuckled. He didn't like moving either. "It doesn't have to be perfect Stella. Just livable."

"True. Did they stock the refrigerator for us? Or is that one of the things we're supposed to do? We haven't eaten since this morning and I'm starving!"

"I don't think so and even if they did, I'm too tired to cook."

She smiled. She didn't think he even LIKED to cook. "Me either. You don't happen to know of any good restaurants around here do you? We've got these wonderful new bank cards....." she said.

It was his turn to smile. "As a matter in fact, I know of several. What are you in the mood for?"

She thought about it for a moment and replied "How about Italian? I could go for a good seafood alfredo and a salad right now. A nice glass of wine to go with it would be nice too. Its been a long day. How about you?"

"There's Mama Gina's steak and seafood about a mile from here. I've been there before and the food's pretty good. So the wine."

"I'm sold. I hope its casual dining though. I don't feel like having to get dressed up right now." she said. "Provided I could even find something to dress up in without having to dig through all the luggage."

"No problem. We're dressed fine for there. Just grab your purse."

Stella heaved herself out of the chair. "Alright. Give me a minute to clean up and I'll be right out." She headed towards the bathroom. Once there, she washed her face and hands and re-did a bit of her makeup. She ran a brush through her hair and grabbed her purse from the bedroom. Upon entering the living room, she found Mac waiting patiently by the door, jiggling two sets of car keys in his hand. He handed her a set without comment. She immediately saw the attachment for the panic button Agent McLaughlin had mentioned. She looked up at Mac and nodded her understanding to him. He nodded once in response before he opened the front door for her.

They walked into the garage to find their "new" car and saw Mac wince. When she took a good look at the car, she almost laughed out loud. Mac was going to hate this! Why on earth had they given them a Prius of all things? She just caught Mac's eye and shrugged. She hadn't picked the car after all! He sighed in resignation then opened the door for her.

As they pulled out of the driveway and out on to the road, Mac took the opportunity to check out his partner out the corner of his eye. Since the chief had told them about this assignment, she had seemed nervous and out of sorts. Not that he blamed her. He felt the same way himself. There was a lot at stake here, beyond just the case. He suspected that she was WILLING to do this, but that she was uncertain about how to do this without causing problems. Whether she was going to enjoy it or not wasn't really his business, though he was rather hoping she would. Now that were here and alone, he admitted to himself that he too was willing.

He all of a sudden just decided to bring it right into the open. She was his best friend, right? Besides, this might be the last chance to talk openly.

"Stella, now that were HERE, so to speak, there is something I need to say before I can't say it at all." he said carefully.

Stella turned and looked at him with a startled, almost fearful look on her face. Damn. He hadn't meant to scare her. But he had to do this, to say this.

"Relax. I just wanted to say.... its okay. WE'RE okay. I know this assignment is going to involve a lot of things we wouldn't normally do with each other. I'm a bit nervous about this too. But your my best friend Stella. If I can't do them with you, who could I do them with?" He smiled encouragingly at her. "From this moment on, I'm your husband. I expect you to treat me that way. To be blunt, Not only am I giving you my permission to treat me like your husband, I'm ordering you to. I will be treating you as if you are my wife, in all ways. We both know what that means. We need to be able to accept this from each other or we're not going to be able to do this."

Stella was completely shocked. Intellectually, she knew what she was getting into with this and knew that he knew too, but this was the first time they really addressed it so openly. She took a deep breath before responding. She needed to be as blunt and honest as he was. "Mac, I just don't want to screw this up. Not just the case, but our friendship." She closed her eyes before continuing. "Our relationship means a lot to me, I don't want to lose that. But I have to confess that I find this situation...intriguing." To his surprise, she suddenly gave him a thousand watt smile. "It's that curiosity thing, you understand."

He was so dumbfounded by that last remark he almost ran a red light. "Stella, I had no idea you were that .... curious. It just... never occurred to me." He paused for a moment and gathered his courage. " I admit, I've been ... curious... too, but I thought that was just a guy thing." He blushed, just having to admit that.

Stella laughed in surprise. Did he just say what she thought he said? Did SHE just say what she thought she did? Was she really having this conversation? "No Mac, its not just a guy thing. Us women do it too. I think its human nature."

He just shook his head. This was not a conversation he had ever expected to have with Stella. Not without several drinks anyway. He slowly took one hand off the wheel and placed it over hers. "Curiousity aside, Stella you will always be my best friend. No matter what. This case might complicate things, but we'll always be friends. I was going to say that we need to keep this professional, but that just not going to be possible. If we were strangers we could, but we're not. We care about each other, even love each other, thats what friends are about. Other than the case itself, we need to not treat this as professional partners, but as friends in this. We are going to have to rely on that friendship and trust or we're going to blow this. I think I'm up to doing this... are you?"

She glanced at him, almost shyly, before answering. "With my best friend? Yes, I'm up to this." She paused. Then she gave him an out right EVIL grin. "So just how curious am I allowed to be?"

Mac choked. He was doomed. Right now, Stella was more dangerous to his health than the killer was. He decided if she was going to play that game, he was going to give it right back at her. "Depends. It works both ways. How curious am I allowed to be?"

Neither of them could help it. They started laughing. What else could they do anyway?

When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Mac went to the side of the car to open her door. But instead of just taking her hand, he pulled her into his arms. "Stella, I'm glad we're okay with this."

She looked up into his intense eyes and smiled. "Me too Mac." Then, feeling greatly daring, she leaned into him to kiss him, to find that he was doing the same thing. Their lips met, at first gently but then with a passion they hadn't expected, despite what they had just said. When they finally broke apart they were breathless. Yes, Stella decided. She was certainly okay with this!

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I know, I'm so evil! Don't worry folks, we are certainly getting somewhere!

To Catherine and Fruitbat: Your right, I messed up the Flack thing. I went back and fixed most of it. I need Flack in there somewhere as "part of the team" though.... I've got plans for him.......LOL!

To all of you wonderful people who have reviewed this... I think I love you!! For those of you who haven't yet, please do!


	8. Chapter 8

Letting Go

I don't own them.

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Chapter 8

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Mac and Stella were a bit dazed when they walked into the restaurant arm in arm. That kiss had been more intense than they had expected and it had left them both...curious. But right now, the allure of food was winning out over passion.

The place itself was one of those restaurants that had a worn out, kinda shabby look that indicated it got a lot of business. It was no surprise that most of the tables were full at this time of night and looked to be filled with locals, not tourists. They had to wait a few minutes before the waitress showed them to a small table in the corner.

The food, of course, turned out to be excellent. Now that they had got past their awkward confessions in the car, they had relaxed and just sat back to enjoy a good conversation with a friend. Mindful of the fact that there were supposed to be undercover, they chose a topic that re-enforced it as well as being something they were genuinely interested in anyway. Balcom Labs.

They chatted happily about what kind of work they might be doing and how it might relate to work they had done in the past, though they kept "the past" part rather vague for anyone listening. They made it all the way to the end of the meal before they were interrupted.

An older man and woman had been walking towards the bar in the back when the woman stopped her husband and whispered something in his ear. She glanced at Mac and Stella and walked over to their table, her husband tailing behind. When she arrived, she gave them a bright and somewhat air headed smile. "Um, hello. I hope you don't mind me interrupting. I just thought I would come and introduce ourselves. We're your next door neighbors, I saw you move in today. I'm Gracie Williams and this is my husband Dennis. Welcome to the neighborhood. I hope you like it here."

Mac and Stella could tell immediately that this woman was probably the town gossip queen. There always had to be one of them. They were usually even nosier than a CSI detective! She could be useful though. Stella smiled at her and said "Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Stella Stevens, and this is my husband McQuinn. Don't call him that though" she said with a laugh. "Everyone just calls him Mac." She held out her hand for Gracie to shake and continued. "We thought we'd take a break from unpacking. Besides, I don't know where there grocery store is yet and I would have been too tired to cook anyway!"

Gracie laughed, though her husband was looking annoyed and resigned. Apparently he was used to his wife's antics. "Oh, its on Rt. 25 and Lincoln. There's another one further down Rt 25 by Lamer road, but its not as good. But if you want meat, you need to go to Arnie's Butcher shop down on Main. He cuts the most excellent steaks!" She gave every sign that she would have stood there all night chatting had her husband not interrupted.

"Honey, they just got here! Let the poor people settle in before you bombard them!" He looked at Mac and gave him a pained smile. "I swear, Gracie knows everything about this place and is a little too eager to share it sometimes. Besides," he said, glaring at his wife "the Anderson's are waiting for us."

Gracie took the hint and looked embarrassed but continued to smile. "He's right you know. Anyway, it was nice to meet you! Stop by for coffee anytime. We're in the brown house. Have a nice night!" She flounced away with her husband rolling his eyes behind her.

Stella glanced at Mac with amusement dancing in her eyes. He just raised his eyebrows and shook his head. Apparently word about them was going to get around about them faster than they thought, with someone like Gracie for a neighbor!

She finished her glass of wine and said to Mac "Are you almost finished? We still have unpacking to do if we want a place to sleep tonight." He nodded, grabbed the check off the table and stood up. She followed him, but was a bit startled when he immediately wrapped his arm around her gave her a quick kiss before leading her out to the front of the restaurant. She had to wonder, was he thinking about the playing the undercover part at the moment or maybe something else?

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It was 11:00 before they finally found the sheets. Stella had sent Mac in to take a shower while she made up the bed, planning on getting cleaned up after him. The truth was, she was exhausted. This entire day had been a journey, from moving to a new place to her conversation with Mac. And now that she was really facing a night in the bed she had just made up with him, her nervousness returned. Granted, he had said he was willing... and curious, but we he really serious? She was glad he felt she was his best friend, but she couldn't help but wonder, but wish, was there more to Mac's feelings than that?

Mac walked out of the bathroom wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt and glanced at the bed. The idea of spending the night with Stella was getting him nervous, no matter what he had admitted tonight. He was really trying to keep control of his nerves...and his desire. He knew he was going to be crossing a line tonight. He just wasn't sure he was ready for the consequences.

Stella grabbed a towel and started to the bathroom to take her own shower, but suddenly looked over at Mac with a calculating expression. Well... he HAD said to treat him like her husband.......

"Hey Mac" she said with a smile as she stepped into the bathroom. He raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Lose the T-shirt". He looked startled, then smiled and complied.

15 minutes later, Stella stepped out of the bathroom wearing a long, silk sleeping gown in dark green. Mac, who had just walked out of the living room, stopped and stared. The gown accented all of her curves and made the most of her incredible legs. He took a deep breath and realized he was in for a hell of a night.

Stella walked past him into the bedroom with a smirk on her face. She was rather hoping she would get that reaction from him. "Hey Mac" she called out "which side of the bed did you want?"

He followed her into the bedroom, taking his eyes off her long enough to look around the room itself. "The right side. Its closest to the door. Or did you have a preference?" For a brief moment, he thought about the killer walking through that door... he definitely wanted to be between the killer and Stella if he did.

"No," she replied, slipping into bed "It doesn't matter to me. Did you lock the doors?"

"Already done."

"Then come to bed" she said, patting the side next to her.

He bit his lip and hesitated for a moment, then turned off the lights. The lights from the street lamps shone into the room through the curtains, showing that Stella was waiting for him. He turned down the sheets and slid in beside her. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Stella laid down with her head resting against his shoulder. Then she slowly raised her hand and placed it on his chest, letting her fingers gently explore his scar. He shifted for a moment, so he could put an arm around her and then settled again. He let her explore his chest for a few moments before he lifted his hand and laid it over the one on his chest, stilling it.

"Stella......."

"Hummm?" She sounded very relaxed.

"I know we both said we're.... curious, but would you mind if we put this off for a night?" he asked tentatively.

Stella immediately stiffened. "What do you mean?" thinking he had lost interest and wasn't really willing after all.

"Its just..... I'd feel.... wrong... if we did it the first night. Not that don't want to, but...."

Stella waited for him to find the words. She re-assessed the situation and began to think it wasn't that he wasn't willing. The problem perhaps was that he was too much of a gentleman.

"Just give me a night to get used to this. Sleeping next to you, having you in my arms.... is enough of a shock to my system." he finally said.

Suddenly Stella gave a throaty chuckle. "I know what you mean. I mean, I've thought about it, but now.... I'm a bit nervous. I didn't expect to really find myself in this situation with you. Not that I mind but........"

"Exactly. Lets give ourselves a night to adjust to this. Tomorrow though...." he bit his lip in desire.

"Alright, I understand. But you better be ready for tomorrow!" Stella said.

"Oh I will be. But until then......" He moved and he was suddenly leaning over her. Before she had a chance to react, he tilted her chin up and his lips descended on hers.

Stella was surprised, but then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down on top of her. Gathering her courage, she tried to deepen the kiss and he responded ardently. Gently, they explored each other with their tongues, giving in for this moment to the pleasure. When they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard.

"Stella" he said. licking his lips "If you keep that up I'm going to forget this our first night." He rolled off her, pulling her with him so she landed half way across his chest.

She laughed but took the hint. Instead she shifted a bit so she could curl up next to him, this time with her head on his chest. Her fingers immediately began making little circles near his navel. He groaned.

"Stella...."

"Just playing Mac. I have to admit though... laying here with you like this...is very comfortable. I always wondered what it would be like."

"Hmm, very comfortable." he said. If he could ignore the fact that certain parts of his body were telling him he was an idiot and really needed to do .... something.

"On a different but related subject" said Stella, trying to tell her hormones to calm down "Do you snore?"

He was so surprised by the question that he laughed. "Probably, I don't know. No one's complained if I do. Do you?"

Stella replied with a smile. "I don't know either. I guess we'll find out, huh?"

He pulled her closer and this time, satisfied himself by just kissing her on her forehead. "If I wake you up, feel free to smack me."

She smirked and settled herself so that her body was laying against his from shoulder to knee. She moved her hand from his navel so she could lay her arm across his chest. He responded by laying his hand on that arm, then burying his face in her hair. "I hate to say this, but we should try and get some sleep." he said reluctantly.

"You're probably right" she said just as reluctantly. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to sleep at all. The she gave him an evil grin. "But tomorrow....."

"Tomorrow, we are both going to be in trouble. Just try not to kill me" he said, with amusement in his voice.

"It wouldn't be as much fun if I killed you" she said. He just groaned. Tomorrow indeed! Just what kind of hell did she have planned for him? He was still thinking about that when he finally drifted off to sleep with a sexy, beautiful woman laying on his chest.

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Sorry for the slow update.... my daughter had two nights of dance recitals.

Also...I know several of you probably want to kill me, but I just can't see Mac and Stella "doing it" the first night, no matter how much they might want to. The second night however.....Mac's definitely in trouble! LOL! And so is Stella......

I will update ASAP! I promise! For what its worth, I've already started the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Letting Go

CBS still owns them. Darn it!

WARNING: The following might get a bit hot and heated. I've never written smut before so bear with me.

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Chapter 9

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Stella rose out of the depths of sleep slowly, wondering why she felt so good. Her foggy mind registered a very warm body laying against her and an arm curled around her stomach. For some reason, the sensation didn't cause her alarm, which was odd. Instead, she was very comfortable, even content. It occurred to her that for some reason, she had just had the best nights sleep she'd had in years. Her mind told her in a dreamy fashion that it was because for once, she felt completely safe.

As she woke a bit further, she remembered. It was Mac laying next to her, holding her in his arms. That would account for her feeling of safety. She trusted him. The only uncomfortable thing was that there was something hot, hard and insistent poking her back. After a moment, she realized what it was. Without opening her eyes, she smiled sleepily.

She shifted a little, allowing her body to rub against it. She continued for a few moments before the arm around her mid section tightened.

"Stella...." said Mac in a strained but quiet voice. She grinned wider but didn't stop. She could feel him begin to tremble, then he reached up his hand and cupped her breast, gently fondling the raised nub under her gown with his thumb. Stella groaned, rubbing harder into his groin. He began to slowly kiss her neck, pressing his body even tighter to hers. She could only take a few moments of this before she flipped over and covered half his body with hers. Before she could move further, Mac had his hands tangled into her hair, pulling her to his lips.

How long that would have gone on, or what would have happened next they didn't know. They were interrupted by the ringing of the door bell. They ignored it for a moment, intent on each other. When it rang the second time however they reluctantly broke apart.

"Who the hell can that be at this hour?" Stella groaned. Mac looked at the bedside clock.

"Its 10:00 Stella. Its probably the next door neighbor." He sighed in annoyance as he climbed out of bed to answer the door. Stella too climbed out of bed, then threw him a bath robe. "I think you might need this" she said.

He caught it with a puzzled look on his face. She looked meaningfully down below his navel. His arousal was painfully obvious. He flushed, pulled on the bath robe and headed for the door, running his hand threw his hair. On his way there, he had to wonder.... was Stella always like this in the morning? Was her reaction just because she'd been half asleep or was there more to it?

He looked through the peep hole on the door to see who was standing on his door step. To his surprise, it wasn't a neighbor. He sighed and tried to pull himself together before he opened the door to let Agent McLaughlin and a female agent in. He closed the door behind them before he addressed them.

"Agent McLaughlin. I didn't think you'd be back." He said as he walked into the kitchen. They followed him.

"Sorry about this" the agent said. He looked over at Mac and realized by the look on Mac's face that he might have interrupted something. He felt embarrassed for a moment for their sakes and continued. "We have to re-calibrate some of the surveillance gear. There is some interference in the area that made picking up things in the house more difficult than we expected. Kaylee is here to fix it. It shouldn't take too long." He nodded to the woman, who made a beeline for the living room without saying a word.

Mac just grunted and started for the coffee machine, glad he had thought to bring coffee with him from his apartment. He offered a cup to the agent, who accepted. Mac had just finished making a cup for Stella when she walked into the kitchen with a puzzled look.

"Hello." she said with surprise. "I take it thats your agent in the living room? What's the problem?" She was now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. She took the cup of coffee Mac handed her with a nod of thanks and sat down at the table. Agent McLaughlin join her. Mac, on his part, figured Stella could handle the agent and slipped off to the bedroom to change. He returned a few minutes later, fully dressed and his hair combed.

As he sat down at the table with his coffee, Agent McLaughlin looked at both of them. "By the way, I wanted to congratulate you on how you handled Gracie Williams yesterday at the restaurant. It was perfectly done. She has a reputation in town for knowing everything. If you can stay on good terms with her, she might be a very valuable resource." He smiled. "If you can put up with how nosy she is, anyway."

Mac and Stella looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't realized that they had been under surveillance in the restaurant.

Agent McLaughlin took in the look and nodded. "We hadn't intended to follow your every move, but a few of the agents who moved your furniture were dining there when you came in. They also said that you two played the part of a married couple in love beautifully." He smiled at them both. What his agent's actually said was that their performance was so good that they were all convinced they were lovers when they weren't undercover. He decided not to tell Mac and Stella that part. From what he'd been told, they weren't , although given the look he saw on Mac's face this morning, that might not be true for long.

The two agents left about an hour later. When they were gone, Stella picked up the coffee cups and put them in the sink. She was lost in thought about the things she needed to do that day, so she didn't notice it at first when Mac walked up behind her. She noticed it immediately however when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed her up against the counter. She gasped in response, then turned her head to look at him, just in time to meet his lips.

Inside, she was completely surprised. She had wondered if this mornings performance had just been that he had been off guard because he had just woken up. Apparently not. He captured her lips with his own with a passion that stunned her even as it thrilled her. She pushed her body back against him, taking pleasure in feeling his warm body against her back. Then she reached up, backward, and wrapped her arms around this neck to deepen the kiss.

At that moment, the door bell rang again.

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I know... I'm so mean!! Don't worry folks..... I will update ASAP!

For those of you who have reviewed, THANK YOU! You are AWESOME! For those of you who haven't yet, Please do! All these wonderful reviews are what keeps me writing all this stuff!


	10. Chapter 10

Letting go

Wouldn't it be more fun if I owned them???

Sorry this took so long! I had to re-write it a few times. Word to the wise...do not try to write under the influence of allergy medication! LOL!

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Chapter 10

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This time it WAS Gracie at the door. Stella answered gracefully, but inside she sighed with resignation. She would really rather go back to what she was doing with Mac. His kisses was leaving her feeling like electric sparks were running down her spine. However, given the two interruptions already this morning, she had a feeling she and Mac weren't going to get much privacy today to do much.

At least Gracie had the courtesy to bring fresh blueberry muffins. "Oh good morning Stella!" Gracie said in a breathless voice. "I hope I wasn't interrupting but I saw those nice friends of yours stop by already, so I figured you were up. I remembered you said you hadn't been to the store yet, so I thought I'd bring you two something to eat."

Stella invited her into the kitchen and offered her coffee, not really surprised that Gracie had noticed her earlier visitors. This kind of woman probably noticed everything. Mac walked in just as they sat down.

"Morning Mrs. Williams." He said. "You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest home improvement store is would you? I need to pick up a few things."

She gave him a bright smile. "Oh please just call me Gracie! There's one over on Lincoln and Grand Ave. Here, I brought you a town map." She pulled out a folded paper that she been carrying under the plate of muffins, opened it on the table and pointed out the location to him. Then handed him a muffin.

"Thank you Gracie." He turned to smile at Stella. "I'll be right back sweetheart. This should only take a few minutes." he said to her, then leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before he walked out of the kitchen.

"That is such a handsome husband you have, and so nice too!" Gracie exclaimed. "Where ever did you find him?"

Stella cleared her mind of the warm feelings Mac was giving her and concentrated on her undercover mission. It was time to start planting information. "We met at work, when we ended up doing a project together......."

She talked on for the next hour, giving Gracie the fictional story of the lives of her and Mac. In exchange for Stella being so forthcoming, Gracie offered information of her own. On the map, she showed Stella where everything was and then continued on, giving her information on all the neighbors as well as most of the other occupants of the town. She had to admit, listening to Gracie wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. The older lady was rather sweet and Stella noticed that none of the gossip was malicious. And the information she gave her was far more complete than the FBI briefs.

She also learned quite a bit about Gracie herself. Her husband, Dennis, had worked for the U.S. Consulate as a translator before he retired. Now he worked part time at an international shipping firm. They had traveled the world for years before settling down here 10 years ago, though they still traveled quite a bit. They had three adult children, 2 sons who lived out west and a daughter who, to Stella's surprise, worked in Washington D.C. as a secret service agent. Gracie was also on the arts committee, the local school board, volunteered at the Red Cross and was active in her church. No wonder she had access to so much information about her neighbors! Oh, and she breed Maine Coon cats too.

Before Gracie left, she gave Stella an invitation. "We're having a potluck dinner over at our house this weekend. The entire neighborhood is coming. Do you think you and Mac might be able to take a break from unpacking and come? Then you could meet everyone at once." Stella accepted the invitation as she waved Gracie out the door.

When she was gone, Stella leaned her back up against the door and sighed. She closed her eyes and thought of all the things Gracie had told her. None of them seemed to lead to the killer. At first, she had thought perhaps Dennis might be involved but had quickly ruled him out. Gracie had mentioned that they only traveled in the U.S. to see their kids. All their other travel was overseas. Not to mention he didn't fit the age profile.

She opened her eyes to find Mac watching her from across the room, where he was relaxing against the door jam. The way he was standing was about to make her drool. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, had one hand in his pocket while the other one was clenching a cup of coffee. He just looked so sexy leaning there like that.....

He raised an eyebrow at her look, wondering what she was thinking. Finally he said "So, how did your talk with Gracie go?"

"Interesting....." she said, telling him about all the information she had given Stella. Mac concentrated on everything she said. Stella could tell he was doing just what she had, focusing on each bit of information for clues to the identity of their killer. But just like her, he seemed to come up empty. When she told him about the potluck dinner his ears pricked up.

"Umm. I think your right, it would be a great opportunity to meet everyone." He gave a direct look. She knew what it meant: it was definitely going to be a "working" dinner.

He went on. "Well, I finished unpacked while you two were talking. How about a trip to the grocery store?"

"How about we go out and get some lunch first? You shouldn't shop on an empty stomach" she said with a smile.

He shook his head and laughed.

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Stella leaned back in her chair at the dining room table, completely relaxed. "Mac, I had no idea you could cook like that" she said, smiling over her glass of wine. He had just cooked her an amazing dinner of angel hair pasta in marinara sauce with a perfect wine to go with it. He was "letting her rest" as he put it, he even took care of the dishes. When he finished in the kitchen, he walked over to her, took her by the hand and lead her to the couch, his own glass of wine in hand. He sat down length-wise on the couch, pulling Stella down with him to sit between his legs. She quickly finished her drink and set the glass down. Then she curled up with her back to his chest, leaning her head back against him. The wine had relaxed her and instead of worrying about the future, she just decided to "be".

"Why wouldn't you think I'd be able to cook?" he asked, sounding amused.

"I just never thought about it I guess. I just didn't figure you for a kitchen guy."

He chuckled. "It comes from having to eat my own cooking. I hate going out all the time".

"Makes sense." She sighed in contentment and closed her eyes.

He turned on the TV and switched the channel to a sit com. Stella didn't seem to notice. He had to admit to himself, he wasn't really paying attention to the show. He was thrilled Stella seemed so relaxed with him and he didn't think it was entirely the wine. After a final sip, he set his glass down on the table. His hands now free, he wrapped them around her waist. It had been an interesting day. He thought about how they woke up this morning and he felt his temperature rise. He hadn't really expected her to tease him so much, but she had spent the day doing just that. And she had been downright wicked. The lingering touches at the store, showing off her toned abs every time she reached for something in that too short shirt, brushing her body up against him as he cooked, the kisses...... it had taken all of his self control not to just grab her and pin her to the wall. He knew he told her to just treat him like her husband, but he wasn't really expecting her to do it so.... completely.

"Stella...." he said quietly.

"Hmmm?"

"I just wanted to say.... this is easier than I thought...and harder than I thought."

She moved her head to the side enough that she could look up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Its easier because... I'm comfortable with you. I thought this was going to be very difficult to be like this with you. But now, it feels a bit like I'm just spending time with my best friend......"

"I can understand that... but why harder?" she asked.

"Because you've been teasing me all day....and I'm not immune to your charms." he said drily.

She gave a throaty chuckle. "I didn't think you'd admit that! And you haven't been teasing ME all day? Fair is fair Mac."

"You started it" he said laughingly.

She said the first thing that came to her mind. "So what are you going to do about it?" she said with a smile.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

Stella took a deep breath before answering. "How about we stopping thinking about this and just do it?"

He was startled by her answer. "Huh?"

"Mac, we're really enjoying this...when we're not thinking about complications. So my suggestions is.... for us to stop THINKING about it. We're so used to looking before we leap, but in this case, maybe we shouldn't. We trust each other with our lives every day, isn't that enough?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. Leave it to Stella to get to the point. And she was right, damn it! When he opened his eyes, he looked into hers, to see her trust in him... as well as a challange. He slowly leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. In that moment, he forgot about killers, protocol, under cover operations and just about everything else and just concentrated on the woman in his arms.

Stella responded to his kiss by reaching her hand up and laying it gently against his cheek. When their kiss finally ended their lips were swollen and their eyes glazed. Stella took a few moments to catch her breath before she made another suggestion.

She said it with a smile. "Aren't we supposed to take it into the other room now? Not that I mind the couch per se but....."

Mac blinked, then offered her a shy smile. He couldn't really beleive he was going to do this. She was right....stop thinking....

Stella casually slid her hand down his leg has she slowly got to her feet and then held her hand out to him. He only hesitated for a moment before he took it.


	11. Chapter 12

Letting Go

If I owned them, Gary Sinise probably wouldn't have taken the part. He's a rather conservative fellow, though an excellent actor, and I probably would have offended his sensibilities. I have a lot of respect for the man and I dearly hope he never reads this! And if he ever does.... Gary...sorry, but your character is just TOO much fun to play with!!! Nothing personal......

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Chapter 12

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Mac woke the next morning to find himself very warm and quite naked, curled up with an equally warm, naked and still sleeping Stella. He didn't move from his position, but his mind wandered over the night before. He gave a purely mental groan. He couldn't believe he had actually done that...with Stella! Not, however, that he minded. To be honest with himself, he admitted he more than enjoyed it! She was beyond a doubt the best partner he had had in lovemaking since...Claire. The lust he had shared with Payton was almost perfunctionary, just an easing of hormones, compared to this. Actually, there was no comparison at all.

He considered his choices and his motives from last night and finally fully admitted to himself that what happened didn't have anything to do with the job. It had been his own purely, selfish desire to finally explore a side of Stella he never imagined having a chance to see. And now that they had come this far, the very thought of giving this up after they caught their killer caused him extreme emotional pain. How could he have not realized, all this time, that Stella was his perfect compliment? For so long, he used so many excuses: Protocol, rules.... now none of those things made sense to him. He had been so worried that this would break up his friendship with her... now he realized that it had only deepened that friendship. They had crossed that final line.. and given how much they both enjoyed it... and they were both still alive this morning... proved to him that they would survive this.. their relationship would survive this. She had been right. He needed to stop thinking once in while and just FEEL for a change. He just hoped Stella felt the same way.

He felt her beginning to stir next to him, her body pressing closer to him. He smiled, and gently placed a kiss on her hair. Then he just watched her as she slowly came to full alertness. As she opened her eyes and met his own, he felt a momentary stab of fear. What if she DIDN'T feel the same way? Her gentle smile eased his fears.

"No regrets?" she asked him quietly.

"Only that we didn't do this before." he replied honestly. "Stella, I'm sorry. I've been an idiot."

She raised her eyebrows slightly, taking in that comment. Her first feeling had been one of disbelief. She had actually made love with Mac. Her boss. Her friend. And it had been better than she had ever imagined. She had great sex in the past, but nothing compared to last night, not with anyone. It wasn't just the physical touch either. It was so much more than that. She wondered how she could have ever been worried. He was her best friend and more. This was only a single step beyond that, though a big one. But now her heart was filled with a contentment she thought she would never have.

She finally responded to his comment. "No Mac, you haven't, really. Or maybe we both have been idiots. We both thought we had good reasons to avoid this. But now.... I'm beginning to think those reasons weren't as good as I thought they were. Or maybe, they were good enough at the time but now...."

He nodded in agreement. In reality, they COULDN'T have done this earlier. They were both too aware of their jobs and the rules governing them. But now, those rules no longer applied to them. The chief himself, by giving them this assignment, had cut away that last real objection. He broke out in a big grin. He had known the chief for years and figured the man probably had an inkling how he had felt for Stella. Mac would have gone back and punched him for putting him in this situation, if he wasn't so happy to be here!

Stella saw the grin and wondered what thought had put it there. He told her. "I was thinking.... the chief must be laughing his head off. We certainly got set up!" She thought about that, and an equally large grin spread across her own face.

"I hope he didn't consult the team about this.... they are even worse then he is!" she said.

Mac spared a moment to think of them. Danny, Lindsey, even Flack. Then managed to both groan and laugh at the same time. He just shook his head. What is it with coworkers who feel they must play match maker?

Then he focused again on Stella. "So do you forgive me for being an idiot?" he asked, returning to the subject.

"Oh..." she said, with a now mischievous smirk. "I think you could persuade me..."

He leaned over and gave her a long, lingering kiss that turned into something more....

Their lovemaking this time was much less hurried, though no less passionate. They took the time to truly explore, discovering each others most sensitive spots, learning what each other found pleasurable. But this time, there was no "don't think" involved.

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When they finally climbed out of bed and showered.... several hours later ...... they laughingly made another admission to each other:

"We really can't do this every day." Mac said with a self conscious smirk. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

Stella laughed, giving him a hug. "I think your right. If we did, we'd be too exhausted to get anything done. One of the downsides of age apparently."

He just shook his head, glad she had understood. It wasn't that he didn't WANT to but reality showed that a man his age just, well, couldn't.

He changed the subject. "Speaking of "done", what do we need to get done today? Do we need to get anything for the potluck tomorrow?"

"I don't think we need anything we don't already have. We did a pretty complete job grocery shopping. I think the only thing we really have to do is get out into the community. I'm not really sure what activities they have around here though. I never much paid attention to what's going on outside of the city. I know there is movie theater here, and I think a playhouse too. There has to be something besides just restaurants and shopping." She frowned in concentration, trying to remember.

By this time they had made it to the kitchen and Mac put a plate of bread and fruit on the table and turned to make coffee. Stella sat down, still deep in thought. "Well" she finally said "we can't really go into the city, that wouldn't serve the purpose. And we can't just rent video's and relax either. There has to be something to do. If we had a dog, we could go to a dog park, but since we don't........." She took the coffee he handed her, still thinking.

He sat down and helped himself to some food, letting her think. She finally gave up. "I can't really think of anything. I suppose I could look it up on the internet..." she said.

He had a better thought. "You know, we could just ask Gracie."

Stella blinked. He was right. Gracie could probably tell them every event for a 10 mile radius for the next month. Off the top of her head.

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After getting dressed, she headed over to Gracie's house and knocked, wondering if the older lady was even home. But within a few seconds, Gracie opened the door.

"Stella! Hello dear! Come in! Its so nice to see you!" she said happily. "Would you like some coffee? How are you and Mac settling in?"

Gracie lead Stella into a bright and comfortable kitchen. Stella smiled at her host, thinking that Gracie just must be one of those kind of people who was always social, bouncy and seemed to never take anything seriously. "We finally finished unpacking but it will take us a few days to really settle in." she said, taking the coffee from Gracie. "Actually, I was hoping you might be able to help us. We wanted to get out and do something today, but we don't know anything about what events are going on in the area. Can you give me some suggestions?"

Gracie was happy to give Stella the run down. That's when Stella discovered she was wrong about the good lady's memory. Gracie could tell them every event in a 20 mile radius... for the next three months. Complete with times, costs and directions. Stella just sat back and took all the information in. Apparently, there was more to do around here than she had thought.

Halfway through Gracie's recitation, Stella gasped as she felt a terrible stab of pain on her ankle. She leaped up in surprised, almost spilling her coffee. Looking down to see what had hit her... had it been a weapon? ........ her eyes fell on what could only be described as a large, grayish ball of fluff with two piercing green eyes. A second later, she realized it wasn't a weapon.

"Stella, what!" exclaimed Gracie in shock at Stella's reaction. Then she almost laughed.

Stella realized, after a moment, that the fluffy thing that had attacked her was a half grown, very LARGE, kitten.

"Oh Stella! I'm sorry! I didn't think to warn you! That's Herman, from Sammy's last litter. He doesn't usually come out for strangers. I was keeping him for breeding, but he's a more of a handful than I had expected."

Stella had forgotten. Gracie bred cats.

"Did he hurt you? Oh dear, you're not allergic are you? I didn't think to ask." said Gracie, trying to get a look at Stella's ankle. Stella took a closer look. There were a few pin-pricks of blood, but nothing serious.

"No, I'm fine and no, I'm not allergic. He just surprised me is all." She bent down to scratch the kitten, only to have him playfully attack her fingers.

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Stella left Gracie's a half hour later with a few more scratches and quite a bit of cat hair on her clothes. She guessed Herman thought she earned a cuddle after letting him attack her and had spent the last 15 minutes purring in her lap, much to Gracie's surprise.

She also left with a handful of fliers and tickets. Apparently, being on the arts committee Gracie always had these things laying around her house.

Mac was sitting on the couch when she walked in, watching TV. "How did it go?" he asked.

She laughed. "Well, other than getting attacked by a small lion, it went great." She told him about Herman as she handed him the papers.

He looked through the fliers, trying to organize them all. "Is there anything good in here?"

"Well, there is a square dancing festival at the VFW...." she said with a smile.

"Square dancing? On Long Island? I think I'll pass on that."

"There is also movie night at the theater. They're showing the last three Harry Potter films all in a row."

"I'll pass on that too. I have them on DVD." he said. Stella was shocked. She had no idea he even knew who Harry Potter was, never mind owning any of the movies.

"There is also the play on the beach. I guess its kind of a picnic thing... you bring your meal and a blanket and watch the local high school play. She says they're pretty good this year."

"Huh. Sounds better. What play?" he asked.

"West Side Story".

"I can do that... as long as I'm allowed to snap my fingers." he said with a smile.

She laughed and headed to the kitchen to pack them a dinner for this evening.

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The evening had turned out to be wonderful. They had cuddled together on a blanket on the beach, watching a surprisingly good performance for teenagers. They had met a few members of the community too, who had introduced themselves with "You must be the new couple Gracie told us about...."

It would have been perfect... except for one thing:

As they were leaving, carrying their basket and blanket, they stepped out of the crowd and leaned against a wall, letting everyone else pass them. As they waited, Mac set the basket on top of the wall, not thinking of much at all. He took a moment to wrap Stella in his arms, letting her lean back against him, both of them enjoying the contact. When it became less congested, he turned to pick up the basket again and froze.

Stella, who still had her arm around him, turned to see what was wrong.

There, on the wall, painted in new, dark red paint it said "I am the Alpha and the Omega".

They looked at each other, both startled and chilled. The killer had been here. Tonight.

Mac and Stella gave each other a grim look, quickly masked. They knew what this meant.

The killer had found them. And was probably watching them right now.

Now could they find him???

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Thank you all for the wonderful reviews!! I love reading them! I promise I will update soon!!!!


	12. Chapter 13

Letting Go

I don't own them.

Sorry for the hiatus folks! It wasn't planned. I've had very limited access to a computer for the last several weeks. (Can you say "Jury duty sucks"? Yes, I thought you could!) Now I can get back to writing!

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Chapter 13

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Stella almost jumped in startlement. Mac had just walked up behind her while she was at the sink and wrapped her in his arms. She really enjoyed the contact but was still getting used to Mac acting like this. She would never have believed he was such a "hands on" person. She knew much of this was for the killers satisfaction. After the message on the wall last night, they had to assume he was watching. But she also knew now that this was a much for their own pleasure as it was about the case. It still caused her to blush a bit to admit it, but she was really enjoying this and refused to think about what might happen when this assignment was over.

Mac began grazing on her neck, causing Stella to laughed. "Mac! I'm trying to get this salad ready!"

"I take it that's what we are bringing to the potluck?" he asked, still holding her in his arms.

"This and some dinner rolls. I asked Gracie yesterday for suggestions. Oh, and she also said its supposed to be pretty casual. " Stella said, leaning back into his arms.

"Humm. Did she say how many people are coming?" He asked, pulling Stella tighter into his arms.

"She said about a 100. Most of them won't stay the whole time though. She said they tend to wander in for an hour or so then leave." She was really enjoying his touch, to the point it was getting hard to concentrate on his questions. "It supposed to be just adults though, not many kids."

The seemed to think about that a moment while he continued to graze on her neck. It was a few minutes before he asked "What time are we supposed to be there?"

"In about 2 hours." she said breathlessly. He was driving her wild with those kisses.

"Are you almost done with that salad?" He asked, as his hand slid a bit lower than her waist.

She just nodded, not able to speak.

"Why don't we go take a shower then?" He slowly let go of her, just long enough to take her by the hand. Then he led to towards the bathroom.

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The shower wasn't entirely for pleasure. As they had discussed before, it was probably the only place in the house they could talk freely after the killer spotted them. The sound of falling water should drowned out the conversation from most listening devices. They hadn't noticed that the house had been disturbed at all when they came home last night, nor did it look like anyone broke in but they needed to take precautions. Not that Mac wasn't enjoying himself to the fullest. Running the soap over Stella's naked body as he washed her was causing him a rather predictable reaction.

That didn't mean he couldn't concentrate on work though.

"Do we want to split up and talk to everyone, or should we stay together, do you think?" he asked her as he ran his soapy hands down her back.

"Together, I think" she said, leaning into his touch. "I think it would be better if everyone knew we were a couple." Meaning that the killer would see them as a happy couple, that is.

Mac understood what she meant. He thought the same thing.

"Alright. I don't know that we'll find anyone suspicious at this, but if we keep our ears open, we might find out a few things, anyway." He said.

She nodded in a rather distracted way. Having his hands all over her was making concentration hard. "At least word should get back to whoever this is that we're here, if that message last night was just a random coincidence." She turned to look at him in the eyes. "Mac, are we sure we can handle this guy if he comes at us?"

He pulled her soapy naked body into his arms and kissed her. When they finally broke apart, he told her "We'll be fine. I think."

She smiled, then leaned in for another kiss.

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Mac and Stella wandered over to Gracie's to see that the potluck was in full swing. It almost looked like Gracie had invited the entire town, not just the neighborhood. There were people spilling out onto the front lawn and the house was filled to the walls. Hand in hand, They weaved their way through the crowd, trying to find the hostess.

"Mac! Stella! You made it" said Gracie from behind them. They turned and there she was, looking to be in her glory. "You can put the food down in the kitchen. I can't wait to introduce you to everyone!"

Stella smiled at her and said "I didn't realize it would be such a big crowd!"

"Well, I told people they could bring their friends if they wanted. I just didn't expect everyone to show up at once! Thats alright though. It will make introductions go faster." she said.

"Gracie! These must be your new neighbors you keep telling everyone about!" said a man helping himself to some food.

"Harry, this is Mac and Stella. They work at the medical lab. Mac, Stella, this is Harry Conner, he's the head of the Water Department."

"Nice to meet you" Harry said, shaking their hands. "Gracie has been telling everyone about her new neighbors. She must really like you two. So what kind of work do you do at the lab?"

Mac took up the conversation, telling Harry the fictional story about their work as Stella glanced around the room. Other people wandered over and made their own introductions but nothing seemed unusual. In the next hour, Gracie introduced them to several people and couples. Business people, doctors, retired folks and teachers. None of them seemed to spark the interest of Mac and Stella. All of them seemed ordinary, asking ordinary questions. Except for one person.

Gracie finally wandered back to them. "Well, what do you think of all the neighbors?"

"They seem like really nice people. I have to admit though, that Steve Dowdle guy seemed a bit strange though." said Stella.

Gracie broke into laughter. "Everyone says that about poor Steve! He's a really nice man, been here for years, but he does seem a bit creepy, doesn't he? I think its his job. If there ever was someone born to his profession, he's it!"

Mac joined the conversation. "What does he do? He didn't mention it."

"He's the funeral director for Forest Rest funeral home. I think its dealing with all those dead bodies or something that does it. People who don't know him say he reminds them of Norman Bates. He's a wonderful person once you get to know him, very active in the community and his church, but he freaks people out when they first meet him. Don't worry though... he's harmless."

Stella smiled and let that line of conversation drop. But they at least now had a name to add to the list of suspects. They certainly needed to check to find out where Mr. Dowdle had been in the last few years. She wasn't convinced that he was as harmless as Gracie made him out to be.

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In a corner of Gracie's house sat a quiet man, watching Mac and Stella. Unwitnessed by anyone, his eyes seethed with rage when he watched Mac slide his arm around Stella and give her a quick kiss on the check. He hated people like them. All lovey dovey. Oh so perfect. People who didn't care about the damage they left behind, about the sick truths they must be hiding in their marriage. Perfect, pretty little people who only loved themselves. People who never lived by God's laws and didn't care about the consequences. OH so happy. People like them must die, he thought. He knew where they lived now. He would make them regret their lies, just like he had once make his parents pay... like he'd made other perfect little couples pay.....

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Please review! I promise I'll get another chapter up quick! You guys have waited long enough!


	13. Chapter 14

Letting go

Wouldn't it be more fun if I owned them???

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Chapter 14

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Monday morning for the new Drs. Steven saw them arriving at Balcom labs at 8:30 sharp. They were immediately impressed with the facility. Not just the size, which was very large indeed, but by the security as well. The nice young guard, knowing it was their first day, walked them through all the procedures. When Agent McLaughlin had said it was a "secure facility", he was understating the case. No electric devices of any kind were allowed in the building and they were throughly checked for any unobtrusive listening devices as well. Apparently the work done at this place was so sensitive that they didn't want anyone spying. Fortunately for Mac and Stella, that also meant that the killer couldn't spy on them here.

They were eventually lead to the offices of one Dr. Douglas, the director of the facility. He was also their secure FBI contact.

Dr. Douglas, who proved to be a tall, dark man in his sixties, introduced himself as they sat down in the office. He walked over and shut the door, then turned to them with a big grin on his face.

"Well! Its nice to finally meet you. Agent McLaughlin has been telling me all about you and the case. He wanted me to let you know that all the surveillance gear seems to be working right now and he wanted me to ask you if you have any questions or problems."

Mac and Stella both blushed slightly at the reminder they were under surviellence. "No problems exactly, but we think the killer may have already spotted us." Mac said.

Dr. Douglas blinked. "That was fast. What makes you think that?"

Stella answered. "We went to a play on the beach the other night. When we were leaving, we saw some fresh graffiti painted on the wall that said "I am the alpha and the omega", given the fact those words were what was carved into the male victims, we thought that was significant. We can't be sure he's looking at us specifically yet though."

"We would have reported it, but we didn't want to draw attention the fact that we might know something about the case." Mac added.

"Good thinking. I agree with you, I think the killer must have been there, at least to observe the crowd. I'll make sure someone gets out there to take a look. Anything else? Have you meet your neighbors yet?"

Stella grinned while Mac winced. "Oh yes" she answered. "It seems we are living next door to the town gossip, a lady named Gracie Williams and her husband Dennis. Very nice lady and she seems to know everyone and everything going on it town. She invited us to a potluck party over the weekend and introduced us to just about everyone."

"Excellent!" Dr. Douglas said. "Anyone you might have concerns about?"

Mac spoke up. "Just one. There was a Steven Dowdle there who was pretty creepy."

"Humm......" Dr. Douglas went to the filing cabinet, unlocked it and pulled out a file. "Yes, Steven Dowdle. Runs Forest Rest funeral home. He was one of the first people we checked out. When the murders happened last week, his name came up. We don't think he's our killer though. From the sounds of it, his name came up more because he reminds everyone of Norman Bates than any real concern he did the murders. For all he sounds like a scary person, he didn't fit the profile. At least, we do have evidence he hasn't left town in about 5 years. That rules him out right there."

Mac nodded. "You might be right. We didn't see anyone else that would quite fit the profile otherwise. Of course, we haven't really meet everyone yet."

Stella laughed. "Of course, I'm sure if we give Gracie the chance, THAT will change in a matter of a few weeks. She seems to have the desire to make sure everyone in town knows us."

"Good. Lets keep that up. Hopefully with your neighbor out there telling everyone about you, the killer will focus on you quickly. We'd really like to catch this guy in a hurry."

Mac and Stella nodded, but with mixed feelings. They certainly wanted to catch the killer, but they didn't want to leave their new found "undercover" relationship so soon. The thought of what might happen between them at the end of this assignment was something they weren't sure they were prepared for.

Before they could think too much about that, Dr. Douglas continued. "Now that we got that out of the way, lets discuss your work for the next few weeks. No one in the lab except me knows that you're undercover. You're being told off as research doctors on loan from a lab upstate. We still expect you to act like a loving, husband and wife team though, even here. We get pairs like you from other labs occasionally, so that won't cause a problem. According to the reports I've been given about you, we're not going to have a problem finding things for you to do. You two have a lot of lab experience that we can certainly put to use. So your job assignment shouldn't be too bad for you. As it happens, we just got a very large contract from the FBI to go over and update some of their old cold case files. Mostly they need us to put fingerprints and DNA into the databases, something that should be easy for you two. And who knows? Given the reports I've had about you, you might even solve a few cases for us while your here. So let me show you to your lab and get you started."

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Mac sat back in his chair in lab, taking a break while the machine ran more DNA. Dr. Douglas hadn't been kidding when he said there was alot of work to be done. He was grateful that at least he could do some good while doing this assignment. Stella was working just across from him, studying something under a microscope. He smiled. He loved watching her work. She was always so serious and focused on the details, almost to the exclusion of everything else. The truth was, he watched her like this frequently, whenever he had the opportunity. There was just something about her dedication that thrilled him to no end. He loved having these moments when he could just watch her. He smiled even bigger. There was something he has always wanted to do when her attention was so focused like this... something he would never even have considered doing at the crime lab. And since Dr. Douglas had said they were still supposed to be acting like a couple.....

He slowly stood up and walked across the lab to get himself some coffee. This gave him the opportunity to watch her from behind. She didn't seem to be paying attention to him. After taking a few sips, he set the coffee down and walked up behind her. Then he gently reached up to push her hair aside and softly kissed her on her neck.

Stella jumped. She hadn't noticed Mac walk up behind her, and certainly hadn't expected him to kiss her! Not in the lab! She knew that they were still acting like they were married here, but she just didn't expect him to be affectionate in this realm! Not one so much like their own crime lab! She turned to give him a startled look.

Mac almost laughed at the expression on Stella's face. She couldn't have looked more surprised. She obviously hadn't expected him to do that! Not that she looked unhappy about it, he was pleased to note.

"Mac! What ARE you doing?" she asked in a shocked voice.

He couldn't help it. This time he did laugh. "Acting like your husband. Besides, I've always wanted to do that!"

Stella's jaw almost dropped she was so surprised. Not the part about acting like her husband, but the part about him having wanted to do that in the past. She grinned at the admission, and shook her head.

"You keep surprising me. You're bolder than I ever gave you credit for." she said.

"Well, I couldn't very well do it at the lab... for several reasons. But I figured since I had the opportunity, I would take it." he replied with a smile.

Stella knew exactly what he meant. The truth was, she loved watching him in the lab too and had already spent part of the morning quietly watching him run his DNA. She couldn't help it. The confident way he worked always thrilled her. More, now that they had been lovers, she was amazed that a man who could seem almost cold when working a case could be so passionate elsewhere. It was hard for her to reconcile the determined, professional man she always knew... knowing that all that time he was being so professional he had such unprofessional thoughts running through his head. These two sides of him delighted her to no end, that she could now share them both with him.

She turned and reached her arms around him, pulling him to her. She loved the fact that he didn't resist. "It must be human nature." She admitted shyly. "I thought about doing the same thing, but I didn't want to make you panic."

He understood what she was saying. Despite the fact that they were now making loving with one another, and really enjoying it, she was still uncertain of him. There no words he could use at that moment to convince her, to ease her past that uncertainty, so instead he leaned down, tilted her chin up and very gently kissed her.

Once again, what had meant to be a simple kiss turned into some far more passionate. They forgot where they were, what they were doing and who could see them and gave themselves up to their feelings. They lost track of time and breath. It wasn't until they heard a sound of the lab door closing that they broke apart in confusion.

To find that two familiar, grinning idiots had just walked in on them.

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